Satoshi's poem - The Understander

The Understander

Like a brilliant sunbeam you flash
In and then out
A sunbeam into a gray box and then out
A gray box under the stormy night sky
A gray box shattered into a million sparkling shards of color
And out of the shards a seed sprouts
And from the sprout comes a sapling
And from the sapling emerges an Oak
An Oak tree strong and weathered by many storms
With deep roots and long branches that offer shade and shelter to all who receive it
Then in a brilliant flash all of this ends
But it is not the end but the beginning
The beginning of a wonderful eternity
With Him the creator of All
Who has no end or beginning
The understander

by Satoshi who can create because of Him

Monkey electrocuted

We have a few families of monkeys outside of our house.   Sometimes they sit in our balcony.  (But they didn't write those words on our window!  That was Sawyer and Meena.)

We also have a tall electric transformer in front of our house.   One day as I was sitting with all three chidlren enjoying snacks and lemonade and hearing about their day at school, suddenly we heard an explosive sound like a bamb, and saw a flash followed by sparks falling out and down like fireworks.   As we rushed to the window, we saw a big monkey falling down, almost like slow motion, to the ground.  

We had just witnessed the monkey being electrocuted.   

There were other monkeys in the trees nearby, and they all froze for a few seconds and then began to scream in panic.  We also felt a bit panicky.   They looked down at the monkey lying still on the ground and walked around, agitated, though they did not go near it. They did not know what to do, and neither did we.   Our children were traumatized.

Then I saw the monkey twiching its body.   A few minutes later, it sat up.  Some time after that, it somehow went away.    Hopefully, he learned a lesson!

家の周りに、サルの家族が住んでます。ある日、子供たちとお菓子を食べながら、学校の話をしているときに、いきなりバン！と大きな音、また、花火のような光が見えました。そして、お猿さんが、高い電灯から落ちていくのが見えました。お猿さんが電灯に登り、感電したのです。ほかのお猿さんたちは心配してパニック状態になっていました。子供たちも、お猿さんが、家の目の前で死んだのではと、パニック状態です。けれども、数分後、道でぐったりと倒れていたお猿さん。起き上がり、どっかへ行ってしまいまい、ほっとしました。電灯は、もう上らないでね。

Hiroko's watercolor - I know who you'll become

Each drop of rain carries a message from God:

I know you

I created you

I see you

I hear you

I know who you will become

You will become an "oak of righteousness"

上から落ちてくる雨の雫

一つ一つが神様からのメッセージ

あなたのこと全部知っているよ

私があなたの創造主

あなたを見ているよ

あなたの声　聞こえるよ

あなたは大きな木になるんだよ

Noise after 11 pm 夜中に何の音？

Riot?  Fight?  Independence Day?  No, it is a wedding prossesion behind our house.   This was after 11 at night.   If you cannot see anything in the video, that was how it was: video, our camera couldn't capture images, since it was so dark.  However, we wanted to communicate how loud it was.   There were a lot of people in the darkness, and a lot more noise than you can imagine.  

Believe it or not,  all three children slept through this noise!

テロリスト？喧嘩？実はこれは、結婚式に行く花婿の行列です。夜の１１時を過ぎていたのに、太鼓、花火と　ものすごい音でした。ビデオは夜で暗くて何も見えないかもしれませんが、どれだけうるさかったのか、伝えたかったのです。３人の子供たちは、インドの音に慣れているのか、ぐすっり眠り続けていました。

Here is the end of the procession.   You can see the groom riding in the carriage.

行列の最後にいる、馬車に乗っている花婿さんです。

Meena's Birthday

Meena is 9 years old, as happy as butterfly.   Hear this happy laugh!

美奈の誕生日です。美奈のハッピーな笑い声を聞いてください。